A wide variety of navigational aids systems and devices are available to help with finding a desired destination. Static directional information may be generated through user inputs to computer system or processor applications: examples include printed text directions or map images with route highlights provided by Mapquest® and Google Maps™ applications. However, static directional navigation information prepared and generated prior to embarkation may be difficult or inefficient to use as a traveler's position changes in real-time, and may even be rendered useless due to unanticipated changes or detours in the actual route taken. Some static route system disadvantages may be overcome by real-time navigation processes, for example OnStar® and Garmin™ devices which use Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) communications to continuously track current geographic position and responsively update navigational directions through text, map images and even narrative sound modules. Such real-time devices can thus provide advantages over static systems with contextual information updates, including audio prompts (e.g. “turn right in 10 seconds”).
However, the abstract nature of the navigational information presented by both conventional static and real-time systems presents problems in user application to real-world travel scenarios. For example, processing and translating audio cues into meaningful information in the context of understanding and reacting to the vistas presented to the moving traveler is difficult, particularly for unfamiliar destinations. And generally it is easier for a traveler, and in particular a vehicle driver, to visually scan ahead for recognized landmarks or other expected items rather than hear, process and interpret text, map graphic imagery or audio information. Moreover, some unfamiliar destinations may be unrecognizable due to problems in understanding and processing textual, map or audio information.
Some systems, such as for example those provided or supported by Google Maps™ address some of these problems by providing satellite or aerial photograph imagery of the actual destinations, thus providing images less abstract and more relevant to the actual locations being navigated by the user. However, the substantially over-head perspective of such aerial or satellite imagery, along with the distant perspective of the device used to acquire the image, limits their ability to convey comprehensive, detailed and meaningful visual information to a traveler seeing a destination from a much closer vantage point, and typically from a horizontal perspective. Thus satellite or aerial photograph imagery provide yet another abstract representation of the actual destination that must, as with textual and audio information, be processed and translated by the user in order to understand its relationship to the actual visual appearance of a given destination.
Moreover, prior art over-head imagery, text, maps and audio information are inherently insufficient with respect to some desired information. For example, searching for an acceptable restaurant may require additional appearance information: does the restaurant look well-run and maintained? Is it located in a pleasant area? Is there a play area for children, and if so is the play area adequate in terms of design? Are the amenities outdoors and subject to the weather? (What is acceptable on a nice temperate day may be unacceptable in extreme weather.)